Oil price gains 2%, kiwi tumbles

2023-05-25
Summary:

World stocks dropped on Wednesday as U.S. debt ceiling talks dragged on without resolution, stoking a general malaise in markets that saw the dollar hold around recent highs, dragging gold lower.

World stocks dropped on Wednesday as U.S. debt ceiling talks dragged on without resolution, stoking a general malaise in markets that saw the dollar hold around recent highs, dragging gold lower.


Europe's benchmark STOXX index fell 1.8% to a 1-1/2-month low as luxury stocks fell 1.7% to a seven-week low as a sell-off in the sector continued.


But crude oil prices bucked the downtrend and kept rising, after a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts.


Commodities

Oil prices rose 2% after the EIA said U.S. crude inventories posted a massive surprise weekly drawdown of 12.5 million barrels to 455.2 million barrels, the EIA said. Analysts had expected an 800,000-barrel rise.


The U.S. Memorial Day holiday on May 29 marks the beginning of the peak summer travel season and higher fuel demand.


Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said short-sellers betting oil prices will fall should "watch out" for pain.


Forex

The dollar hit a fresh two-month high against a basket of peers, bolstered by recent signs of a resilient U.S. economy and debt ceiling jitters.


The New Zealand dollar dropped 2.3% after the Reserve Bank wrong-footed markets by keeping its forecast for the terminal rate at 5.5%, having hiked by a quarter point to that level.

NZDUSD

The pound dropped to a five-week low against the dollar of $1.2358, after data showed British inflation slowed by much less than markets had been expecting.


Higher inflation, leading to higher-for-longer Bank of England rates, had supported the pound in recent months but that relationship is now starting to reverse.

​Oil rises 3% on US debt ceiling progress

​Oil rises 3% on US debt ceiling progress

Global equities rose on Thursday after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the federal debt ceiling, while U.S. Treasury yields fell as data reflected a cooling labor market.

2023-06-02
Changes in non-farm payrolls

Changes in non-farm payrolls

U.S. employers boosted hiring in April while raising wages for workers, pointing to sustained labor market strength. NFP are expected to rise by 190,000 in May, a cooling of the surprise gain of 253,000 jobs created in April.

2023-06-01
​Euro sinks to a fresh two-month low on cooling inflation

​Euro sinks to a fresh two-month low on cooling inflation

​Global equities and U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Wednesday as risk-off sentiment dominated markets, with investors focused on a vote in Congress on raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

2023-06-01